Folk museums the best way to experience Europe's past

Many people travel across the Atlantic in search of "Old World" Europe and to witness traditional culture in action. But with most of Europe firmly entrenched in the modern world, travellers are getting fewer opportunities to glimpse the old way of life.

These days, the easiest (and sometimes only) way to experience traditional culture is by exploring Europe's great open-air folk museums. Usually located in spacious parks near big cities, these museums let you wander around traditional buildings - log cabins, thatched cottages, mills, schoolhouses, shops, and more. The buildings are furnished with original pieces and feature locals dressed in costumes weaving tales about life back in the day.

Founded in 1891, Stockholm's Skansen is Europe's original open-air folk museum - the first in what became a Europe-wide movement to preserve traditional architecture. Inside Skansen's buildings, locals talk about Swedish life. One wealthy farmer shows off his fine dishes and explains how he made his money by growing flax, which was then used to produce linen for undergarments (making heavy woollens more comfortable to wear).

Many traditional arts and crafts are dying, and artisans at Europe's open-air museums are doing what they can to keep the cuckoo clock from going the way of the dodo bird. For example, at Skansen, you will see demonstrations by potters, glass-blowers, and shoemakers.

Open-air folk museums were popularized in Scandinavia - and that's still where you will find the best ones. In Oslo, the Norwegian Folk Museum is located in a sprawling park a boat ride across the harbour from City Hall. A highlight is the stave church, built in 1212 by skilled Viking woodworkers and painstakingly reconstructed on the top of a hill at the park's edge.

In summer, these museums buzz with colourful folk dances and live music performances. At the Norwegian Folk Museum, a crowd gathers each hour at a farm hamlet from the northern region of Telemark to enjoy folk music and dance. With the strict social constraints of centuries past, folk dances were an acceptable way for boys and girls to flirt and strut their stuff.

While Stockholm and Oslo's open-air museums focus on rural folk life, Copenhagen's Den Gamle By shows Danish urban life through the centuries. A re-creation of a main square from the 1500s and 1600s features the mayor's house and the residence of a Copenhagen noble.

The Netherlands' best folk museum is located Arnhem, an hour by train from Amsterdam. A yellow draw-bridge dating from 1358 leads to a scenic pond surrounded by wind-mills and cabins. Inside the laundry house, an industrial-strength agitator furiously pounds stubborn stains to smithereens (there was no "delicate cycle" back then).

Like most folk museums, Arnhem is especially appealing for families. Kids love playing with the small rope-pulled ferry boat or trying to ride the "high-wheeled velocipede" without falling off. The high-tech HollandRama multimedia experience is Arnhem's effort to keep up with the Disneys. A giant capsule slowly rotates to gradually reveal various Dutch scenes, such as wind-mills, a snowy countryside, and house and store interiors. .

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